Merit Club: History, Course Design and Championship Golf in Libertyville

Chicago’s golf history is filled with century-old clubs, legendary architects and championships that helped shape the game. Merit Club in Libertyville offers a different chapter: a course that opened in 1992 and quickly earned a place on the international stage.

Set across 320 acres in Lake County, this private, golf-focused club combines an expansive natural setting with a design intended to accommodate players of different abilities. Its tournament credentials are equally compelling. Merit Club hosted the 2000 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2016 UL International Crown, welcoming some of the greatest players in women’s golf.

Behind those championship weeks is a story about a family’s vision, an influential teaching professional and an architect who brought their ideas to life.

From Stonehenge Farm to Merit Club

Merit Club’s origins stretch back well before its first opening tee shot. In 1967, Bert and Sandy Getz purchased Stonehenge Farm outside Libertyville. The property would eventually become the foundation for a golf club shaped around their enthusiasm for the game.

Discussions about creating a club began in 1983, after Bert Getz befriended Ed Oldfield, the respected golf professional who would become Merit Club’s founding president. By 1988, the two were ready to pursue the project.

Construction began in April 1990, with architect Bob Lohmann directing the transformation. Merit Club celebrated its opening over the Fourth of July weekend in 1992 with dinner, dancing and fireworks.

The opening marked the culmination of years of planning. For Chicago-area golfers, it also introduced a new course whose identity would develop through both everyday play and major competition.

Merit Club – Libertyville, IL

Bob Lohmann and the Original Course Design

Bob Lohmann was Merit Club’s original golf course architect, working closely with Getz and Oldfield. The club’s own history credits Lohmann with translating their vision into the finished course, while recognizing Oldfield as a founding designer. Getz also protected the property’s natural character through a perpetual conservation easement.

Oldfield brought an especially valuable perspective. A longtime head professional at Glen View Club, he was one of the game’s distinguished instructors, with students including major champions Betsy King and Jan Stephenson. His experience connected Merit Club’s development to the demands of elite golf. The Illinois Golf Hall of Fame also credits him with helping bring the 2000 U.S. Women’s Open to the club.

Superintendent Oscar Miles was another important contributor. The Chicago District Golf Association’s retrospective identifies Lohmann, Getz, Oldfield and Miles as the team behind the course’s creation. That collaboration brought together architectural expertise, teaching knowledge, course conditioning and an owner’s long-term vision.

A Golf Course That Gives Players Options

Merit Club’s design philosophy places a premium on giving players choices. Approaches allow golfers to run shots onto greens, providing an alternative to repeatedly demanding high carries over hazards.

Other decisions reflect practical consideration for the golfer. Opening holes play away from the morning sun, while finishing holes return east. The four par threes face different compass directions, introducing variety in how the wind affects club selection.

Practice facilities extend that emphasis on preparation. The range has teeing areas at both ends, and a separate nine-acre practice area includes three holes: one par three and two par fours. Golfers can rehearse situations that resemble actual play rather than relying entirely on range shots.

Ahead of the 2016 International Crown, the LPGA described generous fairways, substantial rough and water that could become more consequential when players chose aggressive lines. Its preview identified approximately 65 bunkers and 14 ponds at that time.

Together, those characteristics suggest a course where difficulty depends partly on decisions. Room from the tee can encourage confidence, while the next shot still demands judgment.

The 2000 U.S. Women’s Open at Merit Club

Merit Club’s defining championship arrived just eight years after opening. From July 20–23, 2000, it hosted the 55th U.S. Women’s Open, placing the young club at the center of women’s professional golf.

Australia’s Karrie Webb won with a four-round total of 282, six under par. Cristie Kerr and Meg Mallon shared second place at 287, five strokes behind.

Webb began with a 69 and established control with a third-round 68. She entered Sunday four strokes ahead of Mallon, but the final round brought a challenge. A double bogey at the seventh helped create a temporary tie before Webb regained command.

She ultimately closed with a 73 and a birdie on the final hole. Only Webb, Kerr and Mallon finished the championship under par.

The victory was Webb’s first U.S. Women’s Open title. She successfully defended the following year at Pine Needles, winning by eight strokes and becoming the seventh player to claim consecutive Women’s Opens. Merit Club therefore occupies an important place in one of the outstanding championship stretches of her career.

For the club, the week provided something that reputation alone cannot supply: a place in the championship record.

The 2016 UL International Crown

2016 International Crown at Merit Club

Sixteen years later, international competition returned in a different form. Merit Club hosted the second UL International Crown from July 21–24, 2016.

The competition featured four-player teams from eight nations: the United States, Republic of Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, England, China and Australia. Qualification depended on the world rankings, bringing together an international field for a team match-play event.

Merit Club became the host after the tournament moved from its originally scheduled venue, Rich Harvest Farms. The decision kept the event in the Chicago area and gave local fans another opportunity to see leading international players.

The United States captured the title with 13 points after winning three of its four Sunday singles matches. It was a championship built around national teams and individual match results, offering a different kind of tension from a traditional stroke-play tournament.

Webb returned as a member of Team Australia, creating a direct link between Merit Club’s two landmark events. In the LPGA’s preview coverage, she recalled her 2000 victory while noting that the Crown’s setup encouraged birdies and lower scoring in the four-ball format.

That contrast illustrates the course’s versatility: the same property could stage a demanding national championship and an attacking team competition.

Merit Club – Libertyville, IL

Merit Club’s Place in Chicago Golf

Merit Club belongs to a newer generation of Chicago-area championship venues. Its history shows how quickly a thoughtfully conceived club can become significant when the right people, property and competitive opportunities come together.

It also adds depth to the region’s connection with women’s golf. Webb’s victory and the International Crown gave Chicago spectators two distinctly different championship experiences, separated by 16 years but connected by the same landscape.

Merit Club remains a private facility at 1500 Merit Club Lane in Libertyville, Illinois. Its identity centers on golf, with prairie grasses, trees and wildlife contributing to the setting.

For anyone exploring the history of Chicago golf, the club deserves attention beyond its comparatively recent opening date. Lohmann’s architecture, the Getz family’s commitment and Oldfield’s influence created the foundation. The championships supplied lasting memories—and ensured that Merit Club’s story would reach well beyond Lake County.

For more information, visit the official Merit Club website.